It is pleasing to hear that the number of used cars sold here in the UK has increased when comparing the first quarter of 2023 with the same period last year according to figures published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
In the first quarter of 2023 the number of second hand cars sold in the UK amounted to 1,847,149 whereas in the first quarter of 2022 some 1,774,351 used cars were sold with this being a rise of 4.1%.
Whilst this is positive news it should be noted that this year’s first quarter performance is less than 8.6% below the figures seen before the pandemic.
An interesting statistic relates to the number of used battery electric vehicles (BEVs) being sold. In the first quarter of 2023 26,257 were sold with this being an increase of over 56% compared to the same period last year. Apparently, such vehicle sales now account for 1.4% of that sector of the used car market whereas for the same quarter last year the figure was only 0.9%. We are sure that you will agree that is a big increase.
The sale of both petrol and diesel fuelled used cars has increased – petrol by 4.5% and diesel by 0.2% when comparing the above two quarters.
The top 5 selling used cars in the UK in Q1 2023 were: –
1. Ford Fiesta 80,477
2. Vauxhall Corsa 59,963
3. Volkswagen Golf 57,549
4. Ford Focus 57,321
5. Vauxhall Astra 41,116
The colour of a vehicle no doubt plays some part when people decide what used car to buy.
The top 5 colours of used cars sole in the UK in Q1 2023 were: –
1. Black 395,593
2. Grey 310,859
3. Blue 301,832
4. Silver/Aluminium 283,783
5. White 273,167
One of the reasons why there has been a rise in the number of used cars sold here in the UK is likely to be as a result of the number of new cars being sold. Many purchasers of new cars will probably be off-loading their second hand vehicle either privately before buying a new vehicle or putting the second hand car in part exchange.
We will continue to provide our readers with interesting statistics relating to the car industry.
